Golf club with tu-shaped handgrip



April 1966 J. 'r. HARTMEISTER 3,245,686

GOLF CLUB WITH T-SHAPED HANDGRIP H a w Wm R R E 0 N J M R WS UW mBQ im/T mmm f f fl .LW/ L E o Filed May 15, 1963 A 2 7 REE;

3,245,686 GOLF CLUB WITH T-SHAPED HANDGRIP Joel T. Hartmeister, P.O. Box268, Aspen, Colo.

Filed May 15, 1963, Ser. No. 280,5?2.

6 Claims. (Cl. 273-813) This invention relates to a new and usefulimprovement in a golf club and specifically to a novel hand grip whichallows a more natural and unrestricted positioning of the hands by meansof which the player can achieve more power and accuracy in his stroke.

One of the basic fundamentals in the art of hitting a golf ball isgripping the club. It is impossible to play good golf without the propergrip. It is only through complete coordination of the hands that thefull power of the body can be transmitted to the clubhead. Since mostclub grips are merely round in section, one of the more common problemsis the difficulty in properly aligning the club and positioning thehands and fingers on the club to maintain the club face in alignment,without an index means on the handle. When the club is properly gripped,the wrist must be cooked in a very severe and unnatural position so thatthe club shaft and the left arm are lying in a parallel relation. Thisextra strain, which is thrown on the wrist, makes it more difiicult toattain a uniform or what is commonly called an in the groove swing." Onetendency, due to this difficulty, is for the player to grip the club tootightly, thus putting the muscles under tension and interfering withcontrol of the direction and speed of the club which he is normallycapable of exercising.

The present invention alleviates these problems in providing an improvedhand grip which is so formed, as to first permit the left hand andfingers to fall into a natural gripping position, and secondly to permitthe left wrist to remain substantially straight and aligned with theaxes of the club shaft with the left arm lying in a parallel andconcentric relation. Due to the natural unstrained position of the leftwrist throughout the power stroke, a complete coordination of the handsis more readily attainable. The present hand grip also mitigates thepossibility of gripping the club too tightly or the improper positioningof thehands on the handle. Thus, whenever the club is gripped, a uniformclub face opening is established.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide a new and novel golf club grip which eliminates for the weekendand serious golfer the numerous problems involved in obtaining a propergrip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grip which will allowthe left wrist to remain in a natural unstrained position throughout theswing, thus permitting increased power and coordination of the swing.

Still another object is to provide an index means for the positioning ofhands which may be custom adjusted to accommodate a users specific clubface opening.

Still another object is to provide a new and novel hand grip whichrequires much less hand pressure by the user to control the club thanthe common club grips of the prior art.

Other objects which will be in part apparent and in part pointed outspecifically hereafter in connection with the description of thedrawings that follows and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the improved grip illustrating theposition of the golfers hands in place on the improved natural grip;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front view of the laterally extending hand grip;

FIGURE 3 is an over-all side view of the golf club embodying theinvention showing the relative angular location of the hand grip to theclub face;

FIGURE 4 is a side view in partial section showing United States PatentO 3,245,685 Patented Apr. 12, 1966 an alternate embodiment whichincludes an adjustable means between the handle grip and the club shaft;

FIGURE 5 is a side view in partial section showing a means for attachingthe handle grip to the club shaft;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the hand grip showing an alternate embodimentwhich fully encloses one of the gripping fingers;

FIGURE 8 is a side view of the hand grip showing a further embodimentwhich fully encloses several of'the gripping fingers.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings, numeral 10 representsthe shaft of a full swing golf club which can be constructed of anysuitable tubular configuration and having at its lower extremity aconventional driving head 12. The driving head 12 is illustrated as awood but also can be of an iron configuration. Adjacent the upper end ofthe shaft 10 is a conventional hand grip 16 for the right hand 20 of theuser. The drawing and specification are illustrative only of a righthand embodiment, but a similar type grip is readily adaptable for a lefthanded golfer. At the extreme upper end of the shaft 10 is attached alateral extending hand grip 14 which is held in the left hand 18 asshown in FIGURE 1. The hand grip 14 is naturally formed to fit the fistof the users hand. The finger impressions 22 are formed around thefingers to facilitate a uniform and integral grip between the hand andthe club. Due to the finger receiving impressions 22 and the naturalform of the hand grip 14, the pressure exerted by the hand to restrainthe club is much less than that required by the common club grips of theprior art. This feature of minimal gripping pressure is furtherexemplified in the embodiments set forth in FIGURES 7 and 8, which willbe discussed in detail later.

The grip member 14 can be made in standards for various size hands orcustom made from the specific individual requirements. The neck portion24 of the grip 14 is of a narrowed configuration so as to suitably fitbetween the middle and ring finger without restricting the naturalposition of the fingers (FIGURE 2). In viewing FIG- URE 1, attention iscalled to the natural position of the wrist 28 and fingers of the lefthand. The axis of the club shaft 10 and the left arm lie in a paralleland concentric relation. During the power stroke, with the device of thepresent invention, the wrist and arm muscles are permitted to assume anatural position in contrast to the prior art devices as previouslymentioned. This unrestricted wrist position not only promotes a moreuniform swing but increases the driving power transmitted from the armsand wrist to the club head.

FIGURES 4 to 6 illustrate modified embodiments for attaching andadjusting the novel grip means 1.4 to the club shaft 10, to which it ismounted. The embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 is secured to the clubshaft by means of an expandable sleeve means 32. The sleeve 32 isadapted to be expanded by means of a cone-shaped plug 34. Plug 34 isthreadedly engaged to a bolt member 39 which draws the plug 34 upwardsin the sleeve 32 causing it to expand due to its cam relationship andfirmly grip the club shaft Ill. The bolt member 30, having a slottedhead 44, passes through a bore in the handle grip 14, where the slottedhead can be adjusted. By means of this adjustment the club facealignment with respect to the ball can thus be varied to suit theindividual golfers needs.

FIGURE 4 sets forth another embodiment for attaching and adjusting thenovel grip means 14 to the club shaft 10. A plug-type member 38 with athreaded opening 36 therein is integrally mounted to the free end of theclub shaft 10. Plug member 38 can be secured to the shaft by means of aweld 39 as shown in FIGURE 4, a transverse pin 26 (FIGURE 2) or anyother suitable means. Centrally located on the handle grip 14 is alateral extending portion 24. On the lower end of said extending portionis a surface 42 which bears against a similarly opposing surface 40 onthe plug member 38. The opposing surfaces are provided with teeth 41 andthe like to engage each other when held in engagement. The hand grip 14and the plug member 38 are held in engagement by a bolt member 30 whichpasses through an opening in the handle grip and threadably engages theopening 36 in the plug member 38. The corresponding teeth on theopposing surfaces 48 and 42 prevent any relative rotation about the boltmember 30 of said surfaces. When the bolt member 30 is suificientlyloosened the teeth can be disengaged and the handle grip 14 can berotated to obtain a desired club face setting and secured therein bytightening bolt 30.

In FIGURES 7 and 8, variations of the grip embodiment are set forthwhich fully enclose one or more of the gripping fingers. In FIGURE 7,the grip has an extension member 46 which is adapted to encircle andreceive one of the gripping fingers of the users left hand.

ment as FIGURE 7, but the extension includes several fingers instead ofone. Although not shown in the drawings, an extension member isencompassed which could be adapted to enclose all the fingers of theusers hand.

It is understood that variations from the form of this inventiondisclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scopeof the invention and that the drawings and specification are to beconsidered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club having a head and a shaft attached thereto, a hand gripmeans secured immediately adjacent the upper terminal end of said shaft,the hand grip means forming an essentially T-shaped assembly with saidshaft, with the cross member thereof being laterally disposed withrespect to said shaft and substantially normal thereto such that whenthe cross member of the hand grip means is secured within the closedfist of the user the club shaft comprises an aligned extension of thewrist and forearm, wherein said hand grip means is contoured to includefinger impressions which fit the form of a users closed hand.

2. A golf club according to claim 1, including exten sion means integralwith said hand grip means to extend at least around a portion of saidfinger impressions and adapted to receive at least one of the grippingfingers of a users hand.

3. A golf club having a head and a shaft attached thereto, a hand gripmeans secured immediately adjacent the upper terminal end of said shaft,the hand grip means forming an essentially T-shaped assembly with saidshaft, with the cross member thereof being laterally disposed withrespect to said shaft and substantially normal thereto such that whenthe cross member of the hand grip means is secured within the closedfist of the user the club shaft comprises analigned extension of thewrist and forearm, wherein said hand grip means is adapted to beselectively angularly positioned about the axis of said shaft, means forlocking said hand grip in any of said predetermined angular positionsrelative to said club head.

4. A golf club according to claim 3 wherein said locking means comprisesexpandable means attached centrally of the laterally disposed member ofsaid hand grip, which is adapted to be inserted into and retained in theupper end of said shaft.

5. A golf club according to claim 3 wherein said locking means comprisesopposed mating surfaces positioned respectively on said hand grip meansand said club shaft, each of said surfaces provided with a plurality ofserrations adapted upon mating of said surfaces to angularly positionthe hand grip means relative to the club head, said mating surfacesbeing held in engagement by a releasable connecting means.

6. A golf club according to claim 1 wherein said hand grip includes thecross member as a gripping portion and a narrowed neck portion adjacentthereto, said neck portion connecting said gripping portion to said clubshaft, with said neck portion being of a width to fit comfortablybetween the third and fourth :fingers of aclosed gripping hand.

References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATESYQPATENTS 1,140,399 5/1915Righter 273-813 1,648,354 11/1927 Lied 273-81.4 X 2,086,974 7/1937Belfore 273- 2,092,839 9/1937 Gouverneur 2'7381.4 2,204,974 '6/ 1940Strasser 273-813 2,321,773 6/1943 Ruemelin 273-813 X 2,445,718 7/1948Sternberg et al. 27.3-81.3 2,710,190 6/1955 Schimansky 273-814 X2,949,304 8/1960 Williams 273-812 X 2,962,288 11/1960 Lowden 273-814 XFOREIGN PATENTS 606,455 8/ 1948 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

1. A GOLF CLUB HAVING A HEAD AND A SHAFT ATTACHED THERETO, A HAND GRIPMEANS SECURED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE UPPER TERMINAL END OF SAID SHAFT,THE HAND GRIP MEANS FORMING AN ESSENTIALLY T-SHAPED ASSEMBLY WITH SAIDSHAFT, WITH THE CROSS MEMBER THEREOF BEING LATERALLY DISPOSED WITHRESPECT TO SAID SHAFT AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL THERETO SUCH THAT WHENTHE CROSS MEMBER OF THE HAND GRIP MEANS IS SECURED WITHIN THE CLOSEDFIST OF THE USER THE CLUB SHAFT COMPRISES AN ALIGNED EXTENSION OF THEWRIST AND FOREARM, WHEREIN SAID HAND GRIP MEANS IS CONTOURED TO INCLUDEFINGER IMPRESSIONS WHICH FIT THE FORM OF A USER''S CLOSED HAND.